Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week is a great chance to see how fashion legends are created. The fabrics, unique designs and the fact that those gowns are one of a kind make this fashion week even more unique and full with fun.

Check out some of the best moments from the catwalk of Paris Haute Couture.

Christian Dior – Simons Gets Back to the Roots

Sharon Stone, Isabelle Huppert and Marion Cotillard were all  front row, while Raf Simons presented his first Couture collection as Dior’s chief designer. Though stepping into John Galliano’s shoes is not a simple task, Simons managed to meet the high expectations and presented a wonderful couture collection. According to Simons’ vision, the mansion in which the show took place was covered with fresh flowers and contained an amazing atmosphere.

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The age of Google Goggles will soon be upon us. The search giant has brought the future of the internet into sharp focus - by revealing a revolutionary new wearable, spectacle-like devices called Google Glass.

The glasses overlay the internet on the surface of the spectacles, allowing wearers to keep an eye on important new items like emails, tweets and facebook updates - but also allowing them to send images that they are seeing to their followers online.

The impressive device - called Glass - was unveiled by Google co-founder Sergey Brin at the company’s annual developers conference in the US. He demonstrated the glasses’ amazing ability by allowing skydivers to live stream the images they were seeing as they jumped from an airship before landing on the roof of the San Francisco convention center. 

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It all began with falling in love. Love, as novelists often have it, normally leads to heartbreak, despair, and general baying at the moon. In my case, love led to castles and cuisine. La belle Lulu, the (then) future Madame Sadler, was from the Loire Valley, from the Touraine, the garden of France.

Wooing Lulu involved a culinary apprenticeship.

I stayed in her parents’ lovely little house with heart-shaped shutters and a wisteria arbour on the fringe of Tours, 240km south-west of Paris. Lulu’s sisters (three of them) put the Pommy suitor to the test. For breakfast they fed me local delicacies, starting with an andouillette grillée. A morning encounter with a French chitterling sausage can be unnerving to the uninitiated. The sausage exudes a perfume reminiscent of the nether regions of a rugby scrum 10 minutes from the end of the match.

This was the beginning of a morning ritual.

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LANDSCAPES: 01 Capture high drama Take to the hills and shoot down into the valleys Cloudy days are the perfect opportunity to capture light-dappled landscapes from mountain tops. Climb high enough and the vista will not only stretch out for miles, but when the sun shines through patchy cloud cover you’ll see a spectacular play of light across the landscape. Landscape ace Adam Burton took this shot of the Cribyn ridge in the Brecon Beacons from the top of Pen y Fan, the tallest mountain in southern Britain. “Usually, I take my pictures at either end of the day when the light is particularly special. The midday light can be very harsh,” he says. “On this day, I was heading out for a walk with friends and family, and decided to take the camera along just in case, but I didn’t expect to photograph anything. “Fortunately, visibility was pretty good, and the cloud cover prevented the landscape bleaching out, which made the photo possible.” Get started today… * Take a sturdy tripod and a cable release. Your camera’s self-timer will do at a pinch, but it won’t enable you to take shots instantly. With clouds moving at speed, you may miss something spectacular. If it’s windy, weight your tripod. * A polarising filter will make skies more blue and landscapes more green. It will also reduce glare and increase contrast. ND grads can also be useful. Adam used an ND 0.6 hard-edged graduated filter for this shot, which toned down the brightness of the sky by two stops. * Set your lens at its widest focal length and set an aperture of around f/16. Focus about one-third of the way into the scene. * Take a test shot and check the histogram to ensure the highlights and shadows aren’t clipped. WILDLIFE: 02 Shoot the bear essentials Photograph giant pandas at Edinburgh Zoo Two giant pandas have just arrived at Edinburgh Zoo, so there’s never been a better opportunity to photograph them in the UK. The man responsible for bringing them to Edinburgh, Iain Valentine of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, says the giant panda “is still a gravely threatened species, with a population in the wild of only around 1,500, and a further 300 in captivity. Like everything else in the field of conservation, the protection of pandas is a responsibility we all share.” If you’re looking for inspiration before you head to Edinburgh, pick up a copy of Panda: Back from the Brink, by photographer and panda expert Zhou Mengqi, from which the photos above were taken. Zhou has spent more than 20 years photographing pandas in the mountains of Sichuan Province in China. The results are truly spectacular images that provide a rare glimpse into the world of this much-loved bear. Get started today… * Overcast conditions are best for shooting pandas, because the diffused light brings out the detail in their fur. * Unless the pandas are climbing, try to shoot them at eye-level, the same as you would when taking a human portrait. * Photograph moving animals using continuous focusing and continuous drive mode. * Use a wide aperture, such as f/2.8, to blur out the panda’s background. For photographs of both animals, use a narrower aperture when one is in front of the other to ensure both appear in sharp focus. URBAN ABSTRACTS: 03 Reflective photography Use puddles to get a glimpse of passers-by To turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, you need to find a new way of looking at it. Fine art photographer Ira Fox captured these compelling reflections of New York street scenes by pointing his camera down and shooting puddles after a heavy shower. “I loved the naturally fragmented silhouettes reflected in the puddles,” Ira says. “To vary the effect, I would stir up the still, murky rain water with my foot, or throw a pebble in to create some ripples. “The best time of day to shoot depends on the light. I took these images mid-afternoon using a 35mm lens with the camera set at ISO400 (or lower if there was more light), using an aperture of around f/5.6.” Get started today… * Naturally, puddle reflections are dark, so you’ll need to use a wide aperture and high ISO sensitivity to get good exposures. * Use Centre-weighted metering, and focus on the surface of the water. * Aim for the far edge of the puddle; take a test shot. Turn your camera upside down, then check exposure and back ground composition on the rear LCD screen. * Altering the colour during post processing can be effective, as the bottom image shows. LANDSCAPES: 04 Woodland wonders Capture the drama of sunlight streaming through trees This time of year is ideal for shooting misty woodland landscapes. Portrait pro Mark Upfield came across this stunning scene as he was driving back from the Isle of Skye. “We came upon Laggan dam, just outside the Cairngorms national park,” he explains. “The guys I was with wanted to get out to see the dam. It was really overcast and rainy, so I waited in the car. Then the clouds parted, and the sun lit up the mist that was rising off the body of water beyond the trees.” The spectacle lasted for just 20 seconds, but Mark knew another opportunity was likely. “I grabbed my camera, got set up, waited about 20 minutes, and then the clouds broke again and I got the shot I wanted.” Mark used a hard-edged three-stop ND grad on an angle to prevent the light blowing out the top-right corner of the image. “I had my soft-edged filters with me, but the light that came through was still harsh against the tree line.” To take your own misty woodland shots, follow Mark’s advice… “Try both hard-and soft edged ND grads in any scene that needs filtering” Get started today… * The best time of the day for misty woodland landscapes is just after dawn, before the mist gets burnt off by the warming air. Mark captured this image an hour after sunrise. * Mark tends to leave a polariser on for his landscapes, but for mist you need to take it off. * Experiment with hard-and soft-edged ND grads. “I recommend to everyone to try both hard and soft in any scene that needs filtering,” Mark says, “because the one you wouldn’t normally use might deliver better results.” * Meter the trees before the sun illuminates the mist, and your exposure should be spot on. PANORAMAS: 05 See the bigger picture Get out and capture a stunning 270° panorama Panoramic photography captures a much wider field of view than is possible with a wide-angle lens. Taking panoramas is a bit more time-consuming than taking single shots, but the techniques are easy to master. For the above shots, panorama aficionado Jeff Morgan mounted his camera on a tripod with a Really Right Stuff rotator, extension arm and L-bracket, which enabled his camera to rotate around the nodal point of the lens. “I was on the beach [for the middle image], so I pushed the tripod in to the sand so it didn’t sink,” Jeff remembers. “I hung my camera bag under the tripod head to further stabilise it.” Jeff set a manual exposure that wouldst op the brightest part of the image from burning out, autofocused on the closest element in the scene, then switched to manual focus. He then took a series of images, which he merged in Photoshop. Read on for more top tips… Get started today… * Always make sure the camera is absolutely level, side to side and front to back. * Take a test shot that includes the brightest part of the scene, check the his to gram to ensure it hasn’t burnt out the highlights, then switch to Manual mode. Similarly, set the focus, then switch to manual focusing. * Use Daylight White Balance and shoot in raw. * When you’re ready to begin, start at one end of the scene, take a shot, then rotate the camera so that the edge of the shot is where the centre of the previous shot was. * When processing the raw files, apply the same settings to all images for consistency. URBAN: 06 Slow things down Speed up city life by slowing your shutter speed By keeping your camera still and using a slow shutter speed, you can create interesting effects in urban areas that have lots of fast-moving traffic. The resulting smeared images contrast the transience of the traffic and the permanence of the city. The shots on the left are from Laurent Baillet’s Chronography 1 series. “Time is very important to me,” Laurent says. “Photographs can catch a moment, or they can summarise a longer period in which every movement disappears from the picture, while the still background remains.” Get started today… * Use a tripod and a remote release. Attach an ND filter or polariser to your lens, or set a narrow aperture and low ISO to reduce the light and lengthen the exposure. * Set focus and exposure to manual if you use shutter speeds longer than a second. * If there are pedestrians in your image, it’s best if they’re blurred, or completely still, rather than somewhere in between. * Try shooting vehicles that are slowing down or speeding up, as well as moving at a constant speed. WINTER SPORTS: 07 Take edgy ski shots It’s the perfect excuse to go out on the piste! Conventional skiing shots are taken from below or to the side, but turning the camera around and shooting skiers as they’ve passed can lead to impressive images. Adventure sport photographer Christian Pondella took this photo of the late pro skier Arne Backstrom on the Aiguille Du Midi in Chamonix, France. “We had to rappel 100 metres to get to the couloir,” says Christian. “Once in position and ready to ski, Arne descended the couloir as I took photos. For this kind of image, you need to be an active participant, operating alongside the athlete.” Get started today… * Wear plenty of warm layers and a high visibility outer layer. Keep spare batteries in your pocket to conserve their energy. * Don’t set up on the outside edge of a tricky bend, or at the foot of a jump where you’ll be invisible to oncoming skiers. * Use a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 sec to freeze action. Widen your aperture and increase your ISO if necessary. * Pre-focus on the spot where the skier will be when you take the shot, then start firing away on continuous burst mode as he approaches. LANDSCAPES: 08 Capture a year in a day Take an automated time-lapse photo Eirik Solheim’s time-lapse photo depicts the changes in his garden over 12 months. It’s an intriguing image, and one that’s pretty easy to achieve. Capture and processing were automated, and once set up required very little work on the part of the photographer. Eirik connected a digital SLR to a computer, glued the camera to his window sill (so it didn’t move between exposures) and used time-lapse software to fire a sequence of exposures during a whole year. He then used a script to combine all of the captured images into one. Get started today… * If your camera’s included software utility doesn’t allow tethered time-lapse shooting, download a third-party alternative, using the Google search engine to find it. * Use Aperture Priority (Av) mode and set an exposure of f/6.3 at ISO400, then use time-lapse software to set up the auto captures. Ensure the camera is powered and secure. * One year later, download and run the script at https://gist.github.com/739744 to merge the photos into one. WILDLIFE: 09 Animal attraction Photograph subjects at sunrise for graphic wildlife shots Usually, it’s the familiarity of the subject’s form that makes or breaks animal silhouettes. This shot works because the subject’s profile is so easily recognisable. “Canada geese can be found on many local lakes and park ponds in the UK,” says the photographer, James Silverthorne. “I like this type of image – it’s simple and graphic. To get the orange hues I took the shot at sunrise.” It’s not only the subject’s form that has to be simple, but the background too, which makes still, cloud-free days ideal for this type of image. Follow James’s top tips to shoot your own stunning wildlife silhouettes… Get started today… * Sunrise and sunset are the best times to shoot. However, with a little imagination you can get stunning results in the day, too. * A long lens will help you to get closer without disturbing the subject. James shot this image on a 100-400mm lens at 210mm. * Choose a simple and graphic composition, with all the major elements on a third, such as the shoreline in this image. * Expose for the background and lock the exposure to ensure your subject is underexposed. Use Exposure Compensation to brighten or darken the background – you can also decrease the exposure in Photoshop. * Switch to autofocus and focus on the edge of the subject, where contrast is greatest, then switch back to manual focus and recompose. 10 Take our latest photo challenge Shoot a stunning still life for your chance to see it in print and win a superb Lowepro rucksack worth £1 50… This month’s mission is more challenging than usual because with still lifes – unlike, say, sport or wildlife photography – you’re in control of every aspect of the shoot, from the subject and composition to the lighting and exposure. For this reason, it can be difficult to know where to begin. To get started, find a simple subject in your house that you find aesthetically appealing – it could be an unusual artefact, an arrangement of similar items, or just something familiar, such as a kitchen utensil. Next, think about light – shooting your subject in natural light from a window, using bubble wrap or a net curtain to diffuse the light, and a piece of white card to bounce light back into the shadows. More advanced photographers could try arranging items of different sizes, shapes and textures, and try out different lighting set-ups using studio lighting or flash and reflectors. Get started today… * Keep things simple to start with. Choose one subject, shoot it against a plain background and experiment with natural lighting. Try to emphasise form with reflected side-lighting. * Your background should either work with the subject, by complementing it, or it should be unnoticeable, but beware of making your image look like a stock product image. * Avoid fruit and flowers unless your lighting and compositional skills are extremely good. Win a Lowepro Flipside 400 AW Each month we’re giving away this excellent Lowepro camera backpack worth up to £150 to the lucky winner of our Your Mission photo challenge. For your chance to win one, simply upload your image to our website, www.digitalcameraworld.com (see below for full details of how to enter). For over 40 years Lowepro has been travelling the world on the shoulders of the best photographers–learning and innovation are the key to its success. The Flipside 400 AW is a high-performance backpack with a unique rear-access compartment and padded waist belt, specifically designed for the wearer to be able to access gear while still wearing the bag. It also includes the patented All Weather TM cover, adjustable dividers and Hide away Tripod Mount TM system. How to enter Upload your entry to the ’This Month’s Mission’ gallery in the Forum on our website (www.digitalcameraworld.com/forum/gallery). Just click on ’This Month’s Mission – Issue 123: Still Lifes’, hit Upload and add your image/s. The three best shots will be selected on 5 April 2012, and printed in issue 125, which goes on sale 27 April 2012. Moving stills Play around with shape, colour and form to capture a striking still life All you need is a tripod, a window, and a piece of card, says still-life pro Max Attenborough. “Really look at your subject as you move the card around,” Max says, “and alter the distance to the subject. It’s amazing how much it changes things. “The tripod is great because virtually every time I’ve ever shot still life, when I see the image on screen I notice I’ve missed something. The tripod means you can finesse the shot (remove fluff, tweak the composition and so on) without losing the position and focus. Basically, it’s one thing less to think about, which helps focus you on getting that finished shot.”

NEWS Apple

 

CEO Tim Cook announced the all-new iPad and Apple TV at a San Francisco media event today. iPad The new iPad starting at $539, will be available on the March 16 and available by pre-order online today, boasting a Retina 1080p display, a quad core A5X chip, iSight camera, 1080p video recording, voice dictation and 4G LTE. Apple introduced the tablet ‘iPad’, choosing not to brand the new model as ‘HD’ or ’3′ as many expected, citing it as a sign of the “post-PC world”. “We think that the iPad is the poster child of the post-PC world,” CEO Tim Cook said. “We’ve sold almost 15.5 million iPads last quarter alone. We sold more iPads in the last quarter alone than any PC manufacturer sold in their entire line.” The momentum behind iPad has been incredible, with 15.4 million units sold last quarter alone. With over 100 rival tablets on the market last year, Apple sold more iPads last quarter than any PC manufacturer sold worldwide. Cook took the time to show his companies dominance, referring to a demonstration of a Samsung Galaxy tablet running Yelp. “You can see it’s pretty basic,” Tim Cook said. “It kind of looks like a blown up smartphone app. That’s because it’s exactly what it is.” The iPad’s new Retina Display is crystal clear at 2048 x 1536 pixels, over 3.1 million pixels more than any other mobile device. Australia’s limited 4G networks will need an upgrade to support the iPad’s next-generation wireless 4G LTE connections, but the iPad supports fast 3G HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA networking. The new iPad Personal hotspot feature allows users to connect multiple devices to the iPads data connection and act as a modem. The new iPad Wi-Fi models will be available in black or white $539 for the 16GB model, $649 for the 32GB model and $759 for the 64GB model. iPad Wi-Fi + 4G will be available for $679 for the 16GB model, $789 for the 32GB model and $899 for the 64GB model. The new iPad adds HSPA+ with a max downlink of 21 Mbps, dual carrier HSDPA with a max of 42 Mbps, and LTE with a max of 73 Mbps download. The featured-packed iPad includes an iSight camera and a FaceTime camera on the front of the device. “As you know, on the front of our iPad we have a FaceTime camera. The new iPad has a great rear iSight camera — we brought the optics system from the iPhone 4S,” Cook said. iSight boasts auto exposure, autofocus, auto face detection and edge-to-edge sharpness. The new camera features HD video recording at 1080p resolution, and with the upgraded iMovie, users are able to capture, arrange, edit and publish movies from the same device in an easy-to-use format. The new iPad, measuring 9.4mm in thickness, delivers the same 10 hours of battery life as iPad 2; on 4G it will last 9 hours. The new model also includes voice dictation according to Cook. “Of course, we have our great software keyboard. We have a new key on the bottom — just tap it, speak into your iPad and it’ll dictate what you have to say.” Apple has also updated GarageBand and iMovie, bringing an array of new tools. GarageBand adds smart strings joins smart guitars, smart keyboards and smart drums. iCloud will now keep songs on all devices with better sharing features. But the standout feature is  ‘Jam Session’, where four iPads can play together to create a new song over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. GarageBand update is available today. iMovie, also has a new feature. Now, not only can you create a movie, but also a movie trailer. Select from styles and templates, and you get a simple interface for creating your trailer. Fill out your outline, your movie studio name, director and tap on your Storyboard, which shows you exactly which shots you need. The music is included in the templates. iMovie is $4.99 and available today. Apple has announced a photo browsing and editing application for the iPad, a revamped iPhoto. iPhoto has great new browsing, new ways to edit with Multi-Touch editing, professional-quality effects, brushes for applying those effects, and Photo Beaming –  to let you beam high resolution photos between your devices. “With iPhoto for iOS, we had the opportunity to reinvent it and take advantage of multi-touch and take it to a whole new level,” Apple’s Phil Schiller announced. iPhoto’s Shelves shows you all the photos on your device in a nifty photo-viewing feature. Users are able to arrange photos in columns, flag photos, view images side-by-side and upload images to social networking sites or via email. iPhoto also enables users to edit photos. Users are able to alter the images colours, adjust lighting levels, and crop images with Multi-Touch. The $5.49 app is now available on the App Store. The iPad is available for pre-order today at the Apple website. Apple TV Apple unveiled the third generation of the Apple TV along side the new iPad, while the outside looks the same; the new ATV has had a hardware upgrade. Capable of streaming 1080p HD the new model has had a complete UI overhaul with a software update and now appears similar to iOS device layouts. AirPlay has stayed the same, so has the input and output connections but the A5 single-core chip has been included. Apple has announced that users will be able to purchase 1080p video from iTunes, incorporating Apple’s Genius functionality. The third generation model will retail in Australia at $109.

Wonderful Architecture

Predisposed as we are to loving all things that involve curving wood, natural light and minimalism, it is not surprising we fell head over heels in love with this exquisite chapel. It is made with 20 tons of unadorned wood and not a single nail or metal fitting.
 
It is called Capela Árvore da Vida- Seminário Conciliar de Braga — The Tree of Life Chapel at St. James Seminary in Braga, Portugal.

Built inside the existing seminary, the chapel was designed by architects António Jorge Cerejeira Fontes and André Cerejeira Fontes, with sculptural work by sculptor Asbjörn Andresen.

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Christmas is love in action.

Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas.

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, calledmanna, formed in his grave. This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day, December 6th (December 19 on the Julian Calendar).Through the centuries many stories and legends have been told of St. Nicholas' life and deeds. These accounts help us understand his extraordinary character and why he is so beloved and revered as protector and helper of those in need.St. Nicholas in prisonArtist: Elisabeth JvanovskySt. Nicholas giving dowry goldArtist: Elisabeth JvanovskyOne story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, withoutdowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.One of the oldest stories showing St. Nicholas as a protector of children takes place long after his death. The townspeople of Myra were celebrating the good saint on the eve of his feast day when a band of Arab pirates from Crete came into the district. They stole treasures from the Church of Saint Nicholas to take away as booty. As they were leaving town, they snatched a young boy, Basilios, to make into a slave. The emir, or ruler, selected Basilios to be his personal cupbearer, as not knowing the language, Basilios would not understand what the king said to those around him. So, for the next year Basilios waited on the king, bringing his wine in a beautiful golden cup. For Basilios' parents, devastated at the loss of their only child, the year passed slowly, filled with grief. As the next St. Nicholas' feast day approached, Basilios' mother would not join in the festivity, as it was now a day of tragedy. However, she was persuaded to have a simple observance at home—with quiet prayers for Basilios' safekeeping. Meanwhile, as Basilios was fulfilling his tasks serving the emir, he was suddenly whisked up and away. St. Nicholas appeared to the terrified boy, blessed him, and set him down at his home back in Myra. Imagine the joy and wonderment when Basilios amazingly appeared before his parents, still holding the king's golden cup. This is the first story told of St. Nicholas protecting children—which became his primary role in the West.St. Nicholas rescuing murdered childrenArtist: Elisabeth JvanovskySt. Nicholas' prayer calming seasArtist: Elisabeth JvanovskyAnother story tells of three theological students, traveling on their way to study in Athens. A wicked innkeeper robbed and murdered them, hiding their remains in a large pickling tub. It so happened that Bishop Nicholas, traveling along the same route, stopped at this very inn. In the night he dreamed of the crime, got up, and summoned the innkeeper. As Nicholas prayed earnestly to God the three boys were restored to life and wholeness. In France the story is told of three small children, wandering in their play until lost, lured, and captured by an evil butcher. St. Nicholas appears and appeals to God to return them to life and to their families. And so St. Nicholas is the patron and protector of children.St. Nicholas providing food during famineArtist: Elisabeth JvanovskySt. Nicholas saving innocentsArtist: Elisabeth JvanovskySeveral stories tell of Nicholas and the sea. When he was young, Nicholas sought the holy by making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. There as he walked where Jesus walked, he sought to more deeply experience Jesus' life, passion, and resurrection. Returning by sea, a mighty storm threatened to wreck the ship. Nicholas calmly prayed. The terrified sailors were amazed when the wind and waves suddenly calmed, sparing them all. And so St. Nicholas is the patron of sailors and voyagers.Other stories tell of Nicholas saving his people from famine, sparing the lives of those innocently accused, and much more. He did many kind and generous deeds in secret, expecting nothing in return. Within a century of his death he was celebrated as a saint. Today he is venerated in the East as wonder, or miracle worker and in the West as patron of a great variety of persons-children, mariners, bankers, pawn-brokers, scholars, orphans, laborers, travelers, merchants, judges, paupers, marriageable maidens, students, children, sailors, victims of judicial mistakes, captives, perfumers, even thieves and murderers! He is known as the friend and protector of all in trouble or need (see list).St. Nicholas blessing shipsArtist: Elisabeth JvanovskySaint NicholasArtist: Elisabeth JvanovskySailors, claiming St. Nicholas as patron, carried stories of his favor and protection far and wide. St. Nicholas chapels were built in many seaports. As his popularity spread during the Middle Ages, he became the patron saint of Apulia (Italy), Sicily, Greece, and Lorraine (France), and many cities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Belgium, and the Netherlands (See list). Following his baptism inConstantinople, Vladimir I of Russia brought St. Nicholas' stories and devotion to St. Nicholas to his homeland where Nicholas became the most beloved saint. Nicholas was so widely revered that more than 2,000 churches were named for him, including three hundred in Belgium, thirty-four in Rome, twenty-three in the Netherlands and more than four hundred in England.St. Nicholas' deathArtist: Elisabeth JvanovskySt. Nicholas bringing giftsArtist: Elisabeth JvanovskyNicholas' tomb in Myra became a popular place of pilgrimage. Because of the many wars and attacks in the region, some Christians were concerned that access to the tomb might become difficult. For both the religious and commercial advantages of a major pilgrimage site, the Italian cities of Venice and Bari vied to get the Nicholas relics. In the spring of 1087, sailors from Bari succeeded in spiriting away the bones, bringing them to Bari, a seaport on the southeast coast of Italy. An impressive church was built over St. Nicholas' crypt and many faithful journeyed to honor the saint who had rescued children, prisoners, sailors, famine victims, and many others through his compassion, generosity, and the countless miracles attributed to his intercession. The Nicholas shrine in Bari was one of medieval Europe's great pilgrimage centers and Nicholas became known as "Saint in Bari." To this day pilgrims and tourists visit Bari's great Basilica di San Nicola.Through the centuries St. Nicholas has continued to be venerated by Catholics and Orthodox and honored by Protestants. By his example of generosity to those in need, especially children, St. Nicholas continues to be a model for the compassionate life.Celebrating St. NicholasArtist: Elisabeth JvanovskyCelebrating St. NicholasArtist: Elisabeth JvanovskyWidely celebrated in Europe, St. Nicholas' feast day, December 6th, kept alive the stories of his goodness and generosity. In Germany and Poland, boys dressed as bishops begged alms for the poor—and sometimes for themselves! In the Netherlands and Belgium, St. Nicholas arrived on a steamship from Spain to ride a white horse on his gift-giving rounds. December 6th is still the main day for gift giving and merrymaking in much of Europe. For example, in the Netherlands St. Nicholas is celebrated on the 5th, the eve of the day, by sharing candies (thrown in the door), chocolate initial letters, small gifts, and riddles. Dutch children leave carrots and hay in their shoes for the saint's horse, hoping St. Nicholas will exchange them for small gifts. Simple gift-giving in early Advent helps preserve a Christmas Day focus on the Christ Child.

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Neil Mockford/FilmMagic

Love, love—they do!

Paul McCartney has been made an honest man once more, as he and longtime girlfriend Nancy Shevell tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in London today at, as promised, the Old Marylebone Town Hall, the very same location at which he wed his first beloved wife, Linda, back in 1969.

So, how'd this trip to the altar match up?

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During the day, the room’s perimeter walls are lit and reflected by the sculpture’s golden metal surface. At night, fixtures inside Fibulae shine light through the flower-like cut-outs, projecting patterned light on surrounding walls and ceiling. Fibulae is the second of five pop-up shops created for the annual Boffo Building Fashion event.  Jewellery is displayed in individual glass cases, accented by small LED lights. The Fibulae installation melds structural design with elegant, one-of-a-kind jewellery.

 

 

A NYC jewellery shop is displaying products using a glowing, encompassing installation appropriately modeled after a giant brooch.The shop was created by Marc Fornes, the architect behind the THEVERYMANY name. Using 7000 brushed aluminium parts, Fornes pre-cut the material and assembled it into 28 sculptural modules using thousands of rivets.

The result is a complex system of intertwining tubes, which Fornes says resembles an ‘embroidered brooch.’

Meanwhile, unique lighting reflects on the aluminium structure, creating a golden aura. Designers at Focus Lighting say they imagined Fibulae to be a be a hidden jewel in a forest, glistening in sunlight by day and illuminated by an internal glow by night.

The 167-sq-m shop sells works by Los Angeles-based jewellery designer Irene Neuwirth. Her pieces are displayed in 19 glass cases positioned at the endpoints of Fibulae’s branches.

The installation can be seen until 12 October at 57 Walker St., New York (10013, NY).

Apple's Steve Jobs dead today with 56 years ;( http://www.reuters.com/article/video/idUSTRE79472K20111006?videoId=222278240

SOMEWHERE DEEP IN THE VIRGINIA INTERIOR (Herald de Paris) – Any student of film will tell you that the black and white era was just different. Lighting, costuming, cinematography, score, and make-up all had to be tailored to allow the imagination to fill in the blanks unconsciously.  Even the direction had a decidedly “black and white” point of view.

I sat, this morning, on a damp, autumn hillside surrounded by the full spectrum, wondering what the turning colours of autumn would look like in black and white.  I decided that it would not be enough to depict a range of greys to exemplify the changing leaves, it would require more – the sounds of autumn winds, of drying leaves being carried across gravel pathways, and the shriveling visage of the annual demise.

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